In Iraq, Democracy is the Only Answer

Eric Davis is a Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University. His research has involved the relationship between state power and historical memory in modern Iraq, the political economy of Egyptian industrialization as a case study of dependency theory, the impact of oil wealth on the state and culture in Arab oil-producing countries, the ideology and social bases of Islamic radical movements, and the comparison of Islamic and Jewish radical movements. His books include Memories of State: Politics, History and Collective Identity in Modern Iraq (California, 2004); Statecraft in the Middle East: Oil, Historical Memory and Popular Culture, with Nicolas Gavrielides (Florida, 1991); and Challenging Colonialism: Bank Misr and Egyptian Industrialization, 1920-1941 (Princeton, 1983). He is currently working on a two volume study of American Orientalism: Mapping America's Orient: The Middle East in American Political and Popular Culture, 1750-1914, 1914-2003.

This lecture is part of the Center for Near Eastern Studies Fall lecture series on The New Middle East: Five Years After 9/11, exploring the most recent events in the Middle East, while providing perspective and analysis from a variety of points of view.